


Confluence

by pinetreelady



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Getting Together, M/M, Polyamory, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-10-25 19:31:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17731277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinetreelady/pseuds/pinetreelady
Summary: “Anya, I have to talk about something with you,” Zhenya says.“Yes, what is it,” she says.“You know I had lunch with Sid today—he wants us to come to Canada. For me to teach at his hockey school. I told him only if you and Nikita will come, too.”





	Confluence

**Author's Note:**

  * For [saintroux](https://archiveofourown.org/users/saintroux/gifts).



> saintroux, you gave me fantastic prompts to work with; thank you! I had a blast writing this and I really hope you enjoy it.

Zhenya gets a text from Sid during the last week of the regular season, after they’ve clinched a playoff berth. 

_I have a question for you. Want to get dinner tonight? :-)_

_Date night, sorry_ , Zhenya texts back.

Zhenya’s parents arrived two days ago for the playoffs, and Nikita’s happy to have a sleepover with them in their suite, while Anya has plans for them to dress up and go out, then come home and fuck each other senseless. Zhenya can’t wait. The long grind of the season and an active nearly-three-year-old means that time for just the two of them is pretty thin on the ground.

_For sure. Lunch tomorrow, instead? ___

__Sid isn’t usually quite so persistent. Zhenya wonders what he’s got on his mind. _Yeah, sure_ , Zhenya replies._ _

___Good. I’ll pick you up at noon._ _ _

__Zhenya shakes his head. Sid’s probably got some plan about the way he wants to approach team management through the playoffs._ _

__*_ _

__It turns out, when they’re sitting there with giant sandwiches in front of them, that Sid wants Zhenya to come teach at his hockey school._ _

__“Me?” Zhenya blinks at him. Him, with Mackinnon, and Sid’s sister, and his army of countless Nova Scotian friends and former coaches?_ _

__“I thought it’d be fun, you know, and I think the kids would like it. Plus, I.” Sid stops, then takes a breath. A faint pink stains his ears. Zhenya wonders if anyone would notice, or if that’s just him. “I thought it’d be nice to show you my hometown. Spend some time together in the offseason.”_ _

__It’s not that they don’t talk in the offseason, but they’ve certainly never spent time together then. They each have their separate lives in the summer. What they have during the season, stays during the season: in hotel rooms on the road and very rarely at either of their houses, especially once Zhenya married Anya._ _

__Zhenya shakes himself from that line of thought. Sid’s waiting for a response. “What, you have cancellation? Need to fill spot?” Zhenya asks, trying to be cute._ _

__Sid levels a look at him. “Maybe you’ve already got your summer planned,” he counters._ _

__Zhenya shrugs. “We have some plans, you know, but not—” he waves a hand._ _

__“Not cast in stone? Awesome. I don’t need an answer right now, obviously. You have time to think about it.”_ _

__Guys usually go their own way over the summer. Even for the ones that are close; that’s part of the unspoken rule of the NHL. You need a break from your team, and you take it over the summer, broken only by the occasional wedding. And of course Zhenya sees his usual guys at home, but most of them aren’t Pens. Except for Gonch. Gonch doesn’t count, obviously._ _

__“Have to ask Anya, anyway,” Zhenya says._ _

__Sid grins at him, fast. “Gotta clear it with the boss, eh?”_ _

__Zhenya sends him a mock scowl._ _

__“Shut up, I know you love being told what to do.”_ _

__“It’s only reason why I can stand being your A, all these years,” Zhenya tells him, and oh, there’s that pink staining Sid’s cheeks again. Sid’s entirely too cute when he’s teasing Zhenya._ _

__Zhenya thinks maybe needs to clarify something, though, just to make sure Sid knows exactly what’s on Zhenya’s mind. “I’m only come if I can bring Anya and Nikita, you know?”_ _

__Sid meets his eyes quickly, then glances down and takes a bite of his sandwich. “Of course,” he says, as if it’s obvious._ _

__*_ _

__Zhenya gets home and Anya corners him against the door, pressing into his arms, pushing up on her toes to kiss him soundly. He draws her close. “Starting something?” he asks._ _

__“Niki’s napping,” she says, and takes his hands and draws them to her breasts. She’s not wearing a bra. He takes a quick breath and leans down to kiss her again, sliding in his tongue as she opens her mouth to him. Her nipples are firm against his palms, and his dick is already taking an interest._ _

__He pinches at her nipple and he can feel her answering intake of breath. She’s wearing a button-down shirt and the tiny shorts she favors whenever the weather remotely permits, and he briefly considers sinking to his knees and eating her out right there, letting her get him messy, but he’d rather she ride him into the mattress like she did last night._ _

__“Upstairs?” he pulls back enough to ask._ _

__She smirks at him, unbuttons her shirt, and slips it off her shoulders. “Yeah,” she says, and starts for the stairs, fingers at the fly of her shorts. She steps out of them as she goes into the bedroom, and he still gets overwhelmed sometimes by how beautiful she is, how much he loves her._ _

__He makes quick work of his own clothes and she goes up on her toes to press against him, the naked length of her body making him breathless and thrilled. He sinks down on the edge of the bed and pulls her between his knees, kissing her breasts, sucking gently on her nipples, then using his teeth. She hisses out a breath and twines her fingers into his hair. He’s got his hands on her ass, and he sweeps his fingers delicately between her legs, through her folds, where she’s warm and wet. His heart pounds and he strokes her clit gently, and she moans as he bites at her nipple again, in time with stroking her and then working two fingers inside her._ _

__Maybe he can eat her out a little before she rides him again._ _

__He pulls away long enough to lie back on the bed, and pulls her forward. “Let me,” he says, roughly, and she climbs obligingly on top of him. He guides her forward by her hips, helps her lower herself onto his face, so he can lick at her carefully, get her wetter and ready for his dick._ _

__“Ohhhh, Zhenya,” she says, and she’s already getting that glazed look in her eyes, when she pulls back, shuddering. She glances down, and he’s plenty hard. Getting his mouth on her always gets him going. She smirks at him, because she knows that._ _

__“I’m gonna ride you but you can’t come until I do,” she tells him, conversationally, and sinks down on him in one searing glide. She’s tight and hot and gorgeous and he’ll be lucky if he can even talk afterwards._ _

__She rides him slowly, pinching at her own nipples, hair tumbling over her shoulders, and the visual alone is killing him._ _

__“Fuck,” he chokes out. He’s practically sobbing with the effort not to blow his load, and she’s smirking down at him like she can tell._ _

__“I’m close,” he warns her._ _

__“Wait,” she says, and lifts her chin a little, pulls back her shoulders, preening. He makes a noise that’s half pleasure, half pain, as she squeezes around him._ _

__She takes pity on him, then, and lifts herself off. He lets out a shuddering breath, grateful for the reprieve. She likes to tease, but she’s not cruel._ _

__She settles back against the pillows—she likes to finish with him on top—and draws him down, guides him into her, spreads her knees wide. He does his best to nail her just right until she’s clenching hard around him, groaning into his neck, and finally, finally, he lets go and shudders into her._ _

__She sighs and he rolls off her as he slips out, and she presses a kiss to his cheek before heading to the en suite._ _

__Zhenya’s brain slowly comes back online, and she reappears a moment later and curls up beside him. He puts an arm around her and pulls her close, her soft hair tickling his nose but smelling so good._ _

__“It’s good,” she tells him, and he sighs, deeply contented._ _

__*_ _

__They’re making dinner that evening, Nikita up on the counter, singing and running a truck along next to the cutting board where Zhenya’s cutting up apples for him, when Sid’s conversation occurs to him._ _

__“Anya, I have to talk about something with you,” he says. She reaches past him for the parmesan and the grater._ _

__“Yes, what is it,” she says._ _

__“You know I had lunch with Sid today—he wants us to come to Canada. For me to teach at his hockey school. I told him only if you and Nikita will come, too.”_ _

__“Niki’s too little for hockey camp,” she says, and smiles at him._ _

__He rolls his eyes. “You know what I mean, Jerry. He wants me to teach. I told him I’ll only come if you and Nikita come, too.”_ _

__She looks at Niki. “What do you say, little man? You want to go to Canada in the summer, to see Sid?”_ _

__“I like Sid,” Niki announces._ _

__“So does Papa,” Anya smirks at him, and Zhenya rolls his eyes._ _

__She’s always found it amusing that he and Sid have what amounts to an enduring fuck-buddy relationship. Zhenya appreciates her forbearance, but part of why it works is because of the clear boundary he and Sid long ago established: on the road only, and careful communication about what it does and doesn’t mean._ _

__He says, seriously, “Summer is to spend time together, with family, not with my teammates. You get to decide if we go, or not.”_ _

__She tilts her head, thinking. “Sid’s not just a teammate,” she says, neutrally._ _

__Zhenya shakes his head, definite. “That’s not the point. You and I, we spend enough time apart during the season. You don’t need to spend time in the offseason to make nice with my teammates, even Sid.” Especially Sid, he thinks to himself, before reiterating, “If you don’t want to go, we’ll skip it.”_ _

__“Might be good for you. And the Pens PR team would eat it up.” She looks thoughtful, and turns to stir the vegetables she’s sauteing. She looks at him over her shoulder. “Plus, maybe it’s good, to spend nice, relaxed time with Sid.” Her eyes gleam a little. She can never resist teasing him a little bit about his and Sid’s _thing_ and he can feel his cheeks heat. _ _

__“More apple, Papa,” Nikita interrupts, and Zhenya finishes slicing it up for him._ _

__“How do you feel about it?” she asks._ _

__Zhenya lifts a shoulder. He likes the idea, sure, to see Sid, to see his home, in the flesh, instead of in the pictures he sends to their group chat every summer. But it’s also a little weird._ _

__“It feels a little like crossing the streams.” What happens with the team, and with Sid, stays with the team; what happens with Anya stays with Anya. He has his thing with Sid carefully tucked away into a box in his mind, September through, hopefully, June, and the summer is Anya’s alone._ _

__His parents come into the kitchen, then, and he stops trying to figure out how to put all of his thoughts into words, for now._ _

__*_ _

__That night, after Nikita’s asleep, they’re lying in bed, Zhenya propped up with his book, Anya making notes on her phone about a charity project they’ve scheduled to do in Moscow in July._ _

__She plugs in her phone, and then rolls onto her side, propping up her head on her arm and looking at him._ _

__He puts down his book, smiles at her, leaning in to kiss her._ _

__“It’s probably pretty there,” she says._ _

__“Where Sid lives, in Canada?”_ _

__She nods._ _

__“I think so. I’ve seen lots of pictures.”_ _

__“You’ve never visited Sid in the offseason?”_ _

__He shakes his head. “No, never.”_ _

__She presses her lips together thoughtfully. He doesn’t expect it at all when the next thing she says is, “Sid’s very handsome.”_ _

__“We’re talking about this in bed?” Zhenya asks incredulously._ _

__Anya smiles at him, a little crooked, a little mischievous, eyes bright. It’s by far his favorite look. “Where better to talk about it?”_ _

__“Anya, what are you saying?” He can’t believe she could be suggesting what it sounds like she’s suggesting._ _

__“I’m saying, maybe it’s time to cross the streams,” she says._ _

__Zhenya can’t say he’s never thought about it. The idea of both of them with him, in bed together, factors into some of his most private daydreams. He’s lost more than a few falling-asleep moments to imagining it. He doesn’t know what to say._ _

__Anya asks, “Where will we stay, if we go there? Are we Sid’s guests, or are we separate, staying in a hotel, not seeing him except at hockey school?”_ _

__Zhenya thinks she’s pursuing the crossing the streams conversation. Will this be purely professional, or … not?_ _

__“I can ask Sid,” Zhenya offers. “What do you want to do?” He knows what he wants to do, now that Anya’s put the idea in his head, but he wants to be sure she’s on board._ _

__“I bet he’s a good host. He’ll take good care of us.” And there’s the mischievous look he loves so much, again._ _

__*_ _

__They’re playing two-touch before game two against the Flyers when Zhenya says, “Sid, I’m talk with Anya. We want to come to Canada, this summer. I’m work at your hockey school, Anya and Nikita go sightsee.”_ _

__“Yeah?” Sid’s face lights up, as he traps the ball neatly under one foot. “Awesome.”_ _

__He taps the ball to Zhenya, who bumps it up on his knee. “Where we’re stay?”_ _

__Sid smiles, and catches the ball, balances it in one hand. “I’d love it if you’d stay with me, at the lake. I’ve got plenty of room.”_ _

__Zhenya smiles._ _

__“It’s pretty quiet, though. If you want, you could stay in Halifax, but that’s not really too happening a place, either.”_ _

__Zhenya’s not sure why everyone seems to think he craves night life everywhere he goes. “Sid, I’m know. Live in Pittsburgh most of year, yeah?” He shrugs. “It’s not Miami, or Moscow. I’m not care. I’m like quiet time at home, too.”_ _

__Sid’s smile is slow, his eyes crinkling. “We’ll have a good time, then.”_ _

__*_ _

__They go to Sid’s end-of-season cookout, and it’s busy with teammates talking and joking about their plans for the summer. They don’t see much of Sid, who’s playing the role of good host, until it’s time for them to head home._ _

__“You’re leaving already?” Sid says, as they make their way to him before saying goodnight._ _

__“Have early flight; Zhenya needs to finish packing,” Anya says, smile curving her lips. She shoots him a look. “He always leaves for last minute.”_ _

__Zhenya pouts at her._ _

__Sid smiles, and says, “It’ll be nice to see you in a few weeks.”_ _

__“I’m hear we stay at your house, for hockey school,” Anya says just to Sid, leaning in close so he can hear her over the ambient noise. They’re almost exactly the same height, when she’s in heels. Zhenya can’t help but notice that they look good, sharing space, heads together. Zhenya swallows, mouth a little dry._ _

__Is their eye contact lasting longer than it usually does? Zhenya’s had too much to drink to navigate this situation._ _

__“I’d like that, if you would,” Sid says seriously._ _

__Anya smiles, slow and secret. “Yes,” she says. “We look forward.” She brushes her fingertips down his arm, and Sid’s lips part just the slightest bit. Zhenya would bet money that he’s turning a little pink, but he doubts anyone would notice if they weren’t watching as closely as he is. He steps in, slides an arm around Anya’s waist. Sid glances at him, and Zhenya looks at him steadily._ _

__“We have good time together,” he says._ _

__Sid inhales sharply, but simply says, “Can’t wait,” before ushering them out the door._ _

__*_ _

__The next day, they fly to Moscow._ _

__There’s an undercurrent the entire time they’re there, or at least, to Zhenya there is. It’s weird, too, because usually he and Anya talk about everything, but somehow they aren’t talking about Sid._ _

__They have dinner with friends; they visit each of their families. They leave Nikita with the Gonchars and go clubbing one night. They work out and take long walks and go to the banya, separately and together. They do charity work and photo shoots and shop for things for their Moscow apartment, and ship things back to their home in Pittsburgh. They watch football and invite people over and take Nikita to the park and to playgroups. But underneath the veneer of normalcy, Zhenya feels like there’s a steady ebb toward an end point that feels like it leads off the ledge of a cliff, like a waterfall._ _

__The only time it comes up is when they’re in bed, Anya whispering filthy things into his ear._ _

__It makes it hard to imagine what will actually happen when they see Sid, because in Zhenya’s mind the line’s already blurred beyond recognition, but that’s no guarantee that Sid’s caught up to the same place he and Anya apparently are._ _

__A week before they’re due to arrive, Sid texts to make arrangements about picking them up at the airport in Halifax. Zhenya has a sudden fit of nerves and nearly offers to find a hotel again._ _

___Renting a car, Sid_ , he texts. _Easier with Niki, and car seat__ _

__*_ _

__They arrive without incident. Zhenya doesn’t think they get recognized in the airport in Halifax, and Anya grabs the keys to the rental so he can navigate them to the address Sid gave them. It feels a little surreal pulling into the driveway, but Sid comes out just as Anya’s taking the keys out of the ignition and his smile is warm and welcoming. Zhenya smiles involuntarily. Sid looks tan and bulky already, relaxed and comfortable; it’s a good look on him._ _

__Anya unbuckles Nikita from his seat, and he launches himself at Sid, who squats down to pick him up, swing him up high, while Nikita laughs in delight._ _

__“Looking good, G,” Sid tells him, and it’s nothing new for him to say, both as an assessment of how his training’s going and as a compliment on his appearance, but it feels loaded now with Anya right there, rummaging in the back seat for her bag._ _

__Zhenya covers his discomfiture with a smirk. “Yes, I am look good,” he says, before dropping his eyes to Sid’s shoulders, his chest, and adding, magnanimously, “You, too, Sid.”_ _

__Sid laughs and turns a little pink, which is always delightful._ _

__Anya emerges and leans in to kiss Sid on both cheeks, both of them laughing as Niki gets in the way._ _

__They’ve only just arrived and Zhenya’s already not sure he’ll survive the visit._ _

__Niki wriggles to be put down, and Zhenya says, in an effort to keep him from tearing off and flinging himself into the lake, “We have to bring in our things, Nikita. You want to carry your bag? Let’s get it out of the back.”_ _

__Nikita takes his own bag, and Zhenya and Sid shoulder the rest, and Sid leads them inside, pointing out the bathroom, the kitchen, as he shows them to the guest suite._ _

__“You guys want a snack?” Sid asks. “I have food for dinner, but I probably won’t fire up the grill for a couple of hours yet. Or we could go out on the boat, or just rest, whatever you want.”_ _

__“I want to see the lake, Papa,” Nikita says, tugging on Zhenya’s hand._ _

__“This guy wants to see the lake,” Zhenya translates._ _

__“Perfect,” Sid says._ _

__They dump their bags and follow Sid back through the house. Sid offers them water as they pass through the kitchen, and Zhenya accepts it gratefully, fills a cup for Nikita, too._ _

__The lake is beautiful, still and calm, but the sky is overcast and the day is cool._ _

__Zhenya pulls out his phone and snaps a picture to send to his parents._ _

__“Not too pretty today, but it’s perfect for a little fishing off the dock,” Sid remarks, then squats down to talk to Nikita. “Too cold for swimming today, little man, but maybe tomorrow.”_ _

__“Want to catch fish with Sid?” Anya asks him, crouched beside him on the edge of the dock, an arm protectively around him._ _

__“Yeah!” he agrees, and Sid stands, reaching out a hand to him, and walking him back to the house._ _

__Anya rises, and slides an arm around Zhenya’s waist, leaning into him. “I’m so tired,” she says. “Is it bad that I’m fine with Sid taking him so we can just concentrate on staying awake until bedtime?”_ _

__Zhenya smiles down at her. “Not bad,” he says. “You know how much Sid likes kids.”_ _

__*_ _

__They sleep hard that first night, and thank goodness Nikita’s a good sleeper, too, because that basically takes care of their jet lag. Zhenya hears Nikita awaken and he struggles out of bed to fetch him so Anya can sleep a little more._ _

__Sid told them last night he has one early meeting today, but he’ll be home to spend the day with them before noon._ _

__Zhenya fixes himself and Niki some toast, and Sid left the coffee pot set up so all he has to do is push a button. Anya emerges, in leggings and a loose long-sleeved shirt, Zhenya raises an eyebrow at her braless state but shrugs. He never minds the view and he doubts Sid will, either._ _

__She comes over to investigate their breakfast, and steals a bite of his toast before rummaging in the fridge for yogurt and fruit._ _

__Zhenya takes his coffee outside and sits on the deck while Anya putters in the kitchen, chattering with Nikita._ _

__He hears Sid’s car pull up, and ambles back inside to greet him._ _

__“Good morning,” he says. “You guys all set? You have everything you need?”_ _

__Anya smiles at him, and Zhenya grabs a cloth to wipe off Nikita’s face and sticky fingers before he slides down and greets Sid._ _

__“I picked up some sandwiches in town,” he says. “The weather’s perfect for a cruise around the lake. I’ll pack up a cooler, if that sounds good.”_ _

__Zhenya raises his eyebrows at Anya. “Perfect,” she echoes._ _

__The day is fair and warm, but not unbearably hot, wisps of high clouds doing nothing to block the sun, just emphasize the blue of the sky. Anya’s long and tan in her bikini top and cut-off shorts, lounging on the seats toward the front of the boat. Zhenya takes advantage of his sunglasses to ogle her—and Sid, too, broad and tan in his trunks and backwards cap. He can’t help but wonder whether the two of them are doing the same. Anya runs to Sid’s type when it comes to ladies, and Zhenya finds he likes the idea that Sid’s attracted to her._ _

__Anya appreciates Zhenya’s ass enough that he figures she likes to get an eyeful of Sid’s, round and full in his swim trunks. Zhenya tears his eyes away at Nikita’s “Look, Papa! Fish!” as he’s up on his knees, peering over the edge into the shallows beneath the boat._ _

__Anya’s been working so hard on her English, Zhenya thinks she might actually be as fluent as he is or better, for all she’s only been living here a few years. She laughs, low and throaty, at Sid’s corny jokes about the water and the wildlife, and he turns off the boat so he can bend to point out turtles on logs at the water’s edge to Nikita, and the eagle that swoops down low over the water, fishing. Niki’s eyes are round and he’s bouncing with excitement._ _

__They grill fish and summer vegetables on Sid’s deck for dinner, and share a couple of bottles of wine. It’s a perfect first day of their visit._ _

__*_ _

__Sid takes them all into the rink the next morning. He has last-minute meetings to go over and approve final details that Zhenya will attend, too, but he assures Anya and Nikita that he’ll have plenty of time to show them around, and they can walk down the block to a playground or stop for ice cream until he and Zhenya are done._ _

__*_ _

__The weekend is a blur of fishing, swimming, rides on the boat, and making food together, various friends and relatives of Sid’s dropping by._ _

__“Sid,” Anya says in her careful English. “I have a list of places I can take Nikita, from research online. Can you look at it with me?”_ _

__He smiles at her. “Of course.”_ _

__Zhenya’s got Nikita on his lap and they’re watching cartoons. He listens with half an ear as Sid weighs in on children’s activities in the area, pros and cons of the Discovery Centre in Halifax, and the Maritime museum, a trip out to the rocky Atlantic coast, studded with lighthouses, vastly different from the south Florida shoreline they’re used to._ _

__Zhenya likes listening to them converse, talking and planning without needing his participation._ _

__*_ _

__Their days unfold easily._ _

__The hours at hockey school fly by. The entire event is so well-managed by Sid’s endless crowd of competent hockey-loving friends, it reminds Zhenya of nothing more than an international tournament, like Worlds or the Olympics. Zhenya can just float along, fulfilling his duties without putting in a lot of thought. All Zhenya has to do is, essentially, show up and listen to the coach._ _

__Zhenya’s participated in charity tournaments and photo shoots before, publicity events. This is like an advanced version of those. He just slots in effortlessly into the place that’s been laid for him, like sitting down at a banquet where someone else is the guest of honor._ _

__Encouraging the kids, getting to know their names, showing them basic drills and coaching their stickwork—that’s his job, and that’s the easy part. He smiles a lot, not just at the kids, but at Sid and Taylor and Mackinnon and Sid’s old coaches. It’s an easy place to be, slipping into place effortlessly as the events unfold around him._ _

__Anya’s careful planning means she and Nikita get back to Sid’s around the same time Sid and Zhenya do. Zhenya’s reluctant to read too much into it, but the easy, organic way they’ve slid into this pattern makes him feel warm and hopeful._ _

__*_ _

__“Maybe I can spend some time with Sid today?” Anya says, leaning in the doorway while Zhenya’s brushing his teeth. “After you get back from school.”_ _

__Zhenya spits into the sink and makes eye contact with her in the mirror, smirking. “Planning to seduce our host?”_ _

__She gives him a mock-scandalized look, then pouts innocently. She’s not fooling him at all._ _

__“You won’t mind if I do,” she says, but he can tell there’s a question underneath the words, checking in, making sure he’s still onboard with whatever yet-formless seedling might be preparing to bloom into life among the three of them._ _

__“Of course not,” he tells her seriously. He watches her line her eyes in the mirror for a moment, then, “You think I need to say anything to him?” Zhenya asks._ _

__“Let me try,” she says._ _

__But it comes up anyway. Sid skates up to him as he’s leaning on his stick, observing the goalie drill that Taylor’s teaching, available if she needs it. “I’m getting a vibe from you and your wife,” he says, as Zhenya leans down so Sid can speak directly into his ear._ _

__Zhenya schools his face. There are cameras everywhere. It has to look like they’re talking school business. “You like?” he asks._ _

__“Yeah,” Sid says, so softly._ _

__“It’s good for me,” Zhenya tells him, holding eye contact for a long moment. Sid draws in a breath as if he’s going to say something else, then just nods and skates over to join Mackinnon._ _

__*_ _

__Anya looks frazzled when they get home so Zhenya takes Nikita outside with the child-sized football Sid had offered the first day they were there._ _

__“You sent that picture of him in the park, and I thought—”_ _

__Anya’s eyes had softened at the way Niki’s lit up. She had murmured a reminder to him, and Niki had said, “Spasibo, Sid,” before Anya reminded him, “English, bunny,” and he'd said “Sanks.”_ _

__“You’re welcome, little man,” Sid had said, eyes crinkling as he'd smiled._ _

__Now, Zhenya runs around the shady patch of grass in Sid’s side yard with Nikita, trying to focus on his kid and his joy rather than what Sid and Anya might be talking about inside._ _

__Finally Niki’s boundless energy starts winding down._ _

__Despite frequent breaks to sip from their water bottles that Zhenya had stashed by a tree, Zhenya’s sweaty from exertion and the sun, and Niki is, too. His efforts at keeping them in the shade weren’t too successful._ _

__“Want a snack, little rabbit?” Zhenya asks, scooping him up, his sweaty hairline smelling sweet like small children’s invariably do._ _

__“Wanna go swimming, Papa,” he says, squirming down. “I need my bathing suit on!” He runs toward the house, Zhenya keeping pace with him._ _

__They take off their shoes and socks by the door, and slip into the air-conditioned cool of the house._ _

__“Hello?” Zhenya calls, and Anya appears. She smiles._ _

__“Wanna swim, Mama,” Niki tells her earnestly, and she nods at him. “Let’s get you changed, then. Coming, Zhenya?”_ _

__Zhenya’s going to sit here in the cool quiet kitchen for a few minutes, and then take a shower. He shakes his head. “Only if you need help.”_ _

__“It’s good, I take him,” she says, in English, for Sid’s benefit, as he appears behind her._ _

__“He’s not tired?” Sid asks._ _

__Zhenya laughs. “He’s tired, but still, so much energy. He wears me out.”_ _

__Sid looks like he’s keeping in a chirp about Zhenya’s age._ _

__Zhenya never thought before about how a child goes from having a regular naptime transitioning to not napping at all. Turns out he skips a nap most days, unless he’s in the car at a critical moment, and then he’ll sleep._ _

__“He took nap in the car, coming back from Discovery Museum,” Anya says._ _

__That half hour is all they’ll get today, then, but the bonus is an early and easy bedtime. “He goes to bed easy, tonight, sleeps hard. So much fresh air,” Zhenya explains._ _

__Sid nods, smiling. Surely he knows some of this from the children he’s spent time with over the years: Dupuis, Kunitz, Fleury, Letang._ _

__“We’ll make dinner,” Sid calls after Anya, who’s following Niki back out of the house and down to the water, fishing net in one hand and bucket in the other._ _

__She smiles back at both of them over her shoulder. “Yes, Niki and I, we’re both very hungry later.”_ _

__“You must be tired, G,” Sid says, leaning gently against Zhenya’s shoulder._ _

__Zhenya stretches. “Gonna shower, then lie down for a bit. Got time, before dinner, right?”_ _

__Sid nods. “For sure.” He hesitates. “You, uh, want company?”_ _

__Zhenya didn’t expect that, but he’s thrilled just the same._ _

__“Yeah?” he asks. “You ask Anya’s permission?”_ _

__Sid’s face flushes. “It … might’ve come up,” he says._ _

__“I’m like to hear this conversation,” Zhenya teases, but holy shit, he really would._ _

__Zhenya knows Sid’s body well after so many years, but showering together in Sid’s guest suite in his lake house feels altogether new and exciting._ _

__“I’m spoil,” Zhenya says to him. “Have Anya, have you.”_ _

__“You’re pretty lucky, yeah,” Sid says, meeting his eyes in the mirror before pulling off his shirt and shoving down his shorts._ _

__“Commando, Sid?”_ _

__Sid shoots him a look. “Like you never do it.”_ _

__Zhenya lets his eyes linger on Sid’s ass and thighs._ _

__Sid shakes his head a little, his smile a little smug. He smacks Zhenya’s ass on the way to the shower. “Coming, slowpoke?”_ _

__“Hope so,” Zhenya leers._ _

__Sid rolls his eyes. “Oh my god,” he says. “Why do I put up with you.”_ _

__“Maybe because you think my wife is hot,” Zhenya says before he thinks it through._ _

__Sid stops in his tracks and looks at him for a long moment. “Um,” he says._ _

__“I do think your wife is hot,” he says slowly. “But that’s not why I want to do this with you now. I’m not, like, using you to, like, lure Anna into sleeping with me.”_ _

__It’s like Sid to respond so earnestly to a dumb remark from Zhenya. “I’m know, Sid,” he says, for want of anything better to say. He wonders if he should turn off the shower, put his clothes back on, if because of his big mouth they’re having a define-the-relationship talk instead of fooling around._ _

__“I like what I have with you,” Sid continues. “I’m glad we’ve been able to keep doing that, even after you met Anna and got married and had Niki.”_ _

__“I’m glad too,” Zhenya says._ _

__“Now let’s get in the shower so we’re not gross for your pretty wife, eh?”_ _

__Zhenya follows him in, crowds him against the wall, and kisses him soundly. He can’t always put his feelings into words, at least not in English, but he can express himself eloquently enough this way. He grabs the body wash—his own, Sid can smell like him for a change—and starts washing Sid all over, paying special attention to his nipples to watch him twitch and blink his wet eyelashes, before sliding his fingers down to Sid’s ass and groping him thoroughly._ _

__Sid sways into him and Zhenya turns him around, slipping his own rapidly-hardening dick between Sid’s thighs and rocking into the hot space under Sid’s balls while slicking his hand over the crown of Sid’s dick. Sid lets out a gasp and Zhenya noses behind his ear, trailing his lips down to Sid’s shoulder, using his other hand to play at his nipples some more. Everything’s slippery and warm from the body wash and the steam, and it’s not long before he’s groaning into the side of Sid’s neck, Sid resting his forehead against the tile to keep them both upright as he shakes and comes in Zhenya’s hand._ _

__Zhenya’s reaching for a towel and still wondering how, exactly, it came about. “You say, you ask Anya’s permission?” he says, and Sid’s still flushed from the shower and from coming and probably from the conversation, too, but it’s hard to say._ _

__“Well. I didn’t really have to?”_ _

__Zhenya raises his eyebrows._ _

__“It was her idea,” Sid says, concentrating hard on rubbing the towel over his arms, and he’s definitely blushing now._ _

__Zhenya laughs a little._ _

__“I mean, she—didn’t have to work too hard to convince me. It’s been awhile, and you really are looking good, G,” Sid says, eyeing his shoulders._ _

__Zhenya lifts his chin. “I’m think, we want to maybe be all together, this is a way to get us to talk about it together, just you and me.”_ _

__“She’s a smart lady.” Sid laughs a little. “Not like we can talk about it on the ice, eh?”_ _

__“Sid! Little kids all around!” Zhenya’s honestly a little scandalized at the idea._ _

__“Good thing we can talk here, then,” Sid says, eyebrows raised._ _

__Zhenya’s not sure how much more they need to talk about it, but he answers, “Yes,” and Sid smiles, slow and warm, before they finish getting dressed and head out to make dinner._ _

__

__*_ _

__On Zhenya’s day to sign things for the kids, the line is longer, even, than it had been for Sid the day before. It’s the novelty of him being there, he knows, but he can’t resist the temptation to tease Sid about it. He catches up to Sid, leaning against the wall outside the locker room once Zhenya’s finally done and and grabbed his gear._ _

__“Took you long enough,” Sid says. “I almost left without you.” A toothless threat if Zhenya ever heard one._ _

__“Takes me so long because kids like me better than you,” Zhenya says smugly._ _

__“I’m never inviting you back,” Sid says._ _

__“Sorry, Sid, it’s too late. It’s Geno Malkin hockey school now. It’s what happens when you don’t think things through.”_ _

__“You’re such a fucking bully,” Sid says, but Zhenya’s not fooled for a second._ _

__“You love.”_ _

__Sid gives him a dark-eyed look but doesn’t otherwise deign to address that. “Let’s go, Malkin,” he says, and leads the way out to the parking lot._ _

__*_ _

__“Want me to watch Nikita so you guys can have a little time?” Sid offers, when they get home. “I can take him out on the boat for a bit, or swimming, or into town.”_ _

__“What do you say, bunny, you want to stay with Sid while Mama and I take a nap after lunch?” Zhenya asks him._ _

__Nikita nods solemnly, and turns to Sid.“Go on the boat?”_ _

__Sid’s eyes crinkle. “For sure.”_ _

__“Take care of Sid, little man,” Anya tells him earnestly, and Nikita laughs._ _

__“He’ll take care of me,” Nikita tells her._ _

__“Oh, of course,” she nods._ _

__Sid’s eyes are crinkled and he puts his hand on Nikita’s head. “You ready, little guy?”_ _

__They wave from the deck as Nikita gleefully goes on the boat with Sid, as they pull away from the dock._ _

__Anya takes Zhenya’s hand and leads him straight into their bedroom. She sheds her clothes and sits on the edge of the bed, cocking an eyebrow at him._ _

__Zhenya draws in a sharp breath. She never fails to get him going. He steps out of his shorts and joins her on the bed, kissing her gently and then more insistently as she opens her mouth to him. He guides her down onto her back, and thumbs at her nipples and she arches up toward him._ _

__“Won’t take much,” she says, low, and he kisses her some more, rubs against her hip, as her fingers gently circle his dick, getting him hard. He kisses her neck, slips a hand down her side and slides two fingers into her folds, where she’s warm and wet for him already. He draws in a quick breath and feels his dick jump where she’s still stroking him, and circles her clit before teasing two fingers at her opening, sliding into her to hear her gasp and moan. “Please, Zhenya,” she says, and he gently knocks her hand away from his dick so he can line himself up and sink into her body._ _

__It’s slow and dreamy, rather than urgent, and Zhenya likes that it isn’t always the same. He thrusts into her in a slow, steady pace, and she sighs and moves her hips against him restlessly, and she clutches his back and whines a little as he nails her just right, before following her over the edge, coming in gentle waves rather than a sharp crest._ _

__Anya wants a nap afterward, and Zhenya wanders out to look at the lake where he can see Sid’s boat heading back into shore. He hopes he doesn’t reek too badly of sex and briefly considers jumping into the lake both to rinse off and to make Nikita laugh, but the thought of the cold water makes him reject that idea._ _

__Nikita sits solemnly while Sid hops off the boat and ties it to the dock, before lifting his arms to be swung out and onto the dock next to him. Sid crouches down and takes his hand to let him help tie the boat with the rest of the ropes to the cleats on the dock, and then unzips his little life jacket and tosses it onto the boat’s seat._ _

__Nikita takes his hand, and points down into the water. Zhenya quietly makes his way down, and as he approaches he can hear Nikita solemnly telling Sid the Russian words for duck, and lake, and dock, and boat, and lunch._ _

__“Ready for some food, then?” Sid asks him. “Should we make lunch for Mama and Papa?”_ _

__“Yes,” Nikita affirms._ _

__“What will they like? Sandwiches? A salad?”_ _

__Nikita’s face crinkles up in thought. “They like fish,” he says, finally._ _

__Sid nods thoughtfully. “Good idea. Let’s make fish later, for dinner,” he says._ _

__“Okay,” Nikita agrees, then looks up toward the house and spots Zhenya. “Papa!” he cries, and barrels down the dock where Zhenya scoops him up._ _

__“You have fun on the boat, Bunny?”_ _

__“Yeah! Now Sid’s going to make lunch.”_ _

__“Oh, is that so?” Zhenya smirks at Sid._ _

__“Sure,” he says easily. And of course, because he’s such a good host, he proceeds to do just that._ _

__Anya comes in wearing a button-down open over her bikini top and little shorts, and comes to give him a kiss. She moves to where Nikita’s on a high stool at Sid’s elbow, and brushes her face against his head, ruffling his hair a little._ _

__“Hi, little one,” she says to him._ _

__“Sid’s making lunch,” he announces._ _

__“I see,” she says solemnly, and she leans into Sid and inspects his sandwich-making._ _

__“Hey,” he says, bumping her gently as she moves back out of his space. It’s affectionate, easy, and it makes Zhenya’s heart twist at the easiness of them sharing space together._ _

__*_ _

__The next day, Anya texts him from Sid’s when they’re on their way back._ _

___Little monster is off the wall today_ _ _

__Before he can respond she sends, _He’s all yours when you get back. I need to work out.__ _

___I’m ready_ , Zhenya texts back._ _

__“We’re on Nikita duty when we get back,” Zhenya warns Sid. “Or just me, if you not want.”_ _

__Sid’s eyes crinkle with his smile. “Nah, I can help out. Anna needs a break, eh?”_ _

__“She say he’s little bit hyper today.”_ _

__Sid nods. “We’ll help him burn off some excess energy, for sure.”_ _

__When they come into the house, Anna shoots them a fed-up look. Zhenya pats her gently on her way by him, but says nothing. He knows how this goes. She’ll definitely feel better after a break and a workout._ _

__He and Sid take Nikita outside and Sid pitches gentle balls to him while Nikita swings wildly with the plastic bat Sid’s trying to show him how to use. Zhenya chases him around the bases, while he giggles wildly._ _

__“Need to let him run,” Zhenya says to Sid. “Helps him not be so crazy.”_ _

__They’re cutting up fruit for a snack a little while later, Nikita sitting at the breakfast bar, kicking his feet and singing. Zhenya puts his ice water against his own forehead, trying to cool off._ _

__Anya cuts through the kitchen after working out in Sid’s gym, sweaty and disheveled. She eyes Zhenya warily as she starts around the kitchen island, away from him, but he’s too fast for her. He circles around and grabs her even as she tries to dodge him, and she starts laughing and squirming._ _

__“Zhenya,” she protests. “I’m disgusting!”_ _

__“Nooooo,” Zhenya tells her, nuzzling her hair where it’s up in a ponytail. He play-wrestles with her, lets her think she’ll get to escape, and then sweeps her into his arms, pressing her close against him, and buries his face in her admittedly sweaty neck._ _

__“Fine, you want to get all my sweat on you, be gross, I don’t care,” she says._ _

__Sid and Nikita are both watching, Sid’s mouth twitching, Nikita laughing outright as Zhenya tickles Anya’s sides a little and she shrieks and grabs his hands to still them. He takes the opportunity to rest his hands on her ass. Zhenya’s still watching Sid, though, whose eyes follow Zhenya’s hands to Anya’s ass, which Zhenya squeezes as Sid watches._ _

__“Tomorrow you work out with me, Sid. You can spot me, for bench press,” Anya says._ _

__Pink rises in Sid’s cheeks. “Of course,” he tells her. “I bet you listen better than Geno, anyway.”_ _

__Hands still at Zhenya’s waist, she twists to look at Sid. “Oh no. Zhenya’s much more obedient than me.”_ _

__She kisses Zhenya once more and quirks a smile at Sid before heading for the doorway._ _

__“I’m going to work out in the morning before camp, maybe you can join me then,” Sid suggests._ _

__She turns and looks at him consideringly, before glancing at Zhenya._ _

__“Yes, I’ll do that,” she says to Sid. “Zhenya can sleep in, give Nikita breakfast.”_ _

__Zhenya can’t help the smile twitching at the corner of his mouth. “It’s good plan,” he says, neutrally._ _

__Anya nods and smiles at both of them, before heading out to shower._ _

__Sid swallows and his eyes track the swing of her hips as she leaves the room. Nikita jogs his arm to get his attention again. “Sid, more fruit!” he says, and Sid rinses a handful of raspberries and deposits them in Nikita’s bowl._ _

__He shakes his head, and darts a look at Zhenya. “She’s trouble,” he says, looking like he means it not at all._ _

__Zhenya nods. “Fun, though.”_ _

__Sid smiles slowly and breathes out a breath. “I’ll just bet.”_ _

__“You know it’s what she wants, what we both want,” Zhenya says._ _

__“What, to have me off-balance?”_ _

__“No, Sid,” Zhenya says. “To have fun, all together.”_ _

__Sid meets his eyes, biting his lip. He draws in a breath. He turns away to steady Nikita as he reaches for his cup and wobbles on his stool as a result._ _

__*_ _

__“The thing is, Zhenya, I like him,” Anya says, emerging from the bathroom at bedtime, as if they’re continuing a conversation they’d started before._ _

__He nods, resting his book on his chest. “What brought on this revelation?”_ _

__"When we worked out this morning, we talked for a bit," she says, settling into bed. "He had some good insights, about what we could do long-term,” she says, settling into bed._ _

__“Really?” It’s a constant conversation, between them, about where they’ll settle after he retires, one that has no easy answers. Neither of them wants to leave their homeland, their families, but the opportunities here are so much better. “Like what?”_ _

__She laughs, low. “Well, I thought this one was funny, but why not, you know? I should do Russian commentary on NHL highlights and put it on YouTube.”_ _

__“It’s a compliment, you know,” Zhenya tells her, playing with her hair a little. “He thinks you know hockey well enough to do that.”_ _

__She shrugs. “Who knows, could be fun.”_ _

__Zhenya tilts his head, looking at her. There’s a smile playing around her mouth, but she looks, too, like she might be thinking about it._ _

__“He thinks maybe I could eventually do hockey commentary here, somewhere, in English, if we stay. Maybe just in Pittsburgh.” She rakes a hand through her hair, but doesn’t meet his eyes._ _

__“You probably could, your English is already so good. It’ll just get better, the longer we’re here.”_ _

__She doesn’t answer, but just pulls the duvet straighter on the bed._ _

__“I know you miss your work, miss Russia,” he says carefully._ _

__She sighs. “Yeah.”_ _

__It’s hard for her, he knows, and once again he feels a wave of—not guilt, exactly, but regret, just the same, that one of them had to give up what they love for them to be here together. He opens his mouth to say as much, but—_ _

__“Stop it, Zhenya,” she says, a little sharply. It’s a discussion they’ve had too many times to be productive. Rehashing it now won’t accomplish anything. He got his way and she didn’t, and no matter how they both know it made more sense for this stretch of years, he knows it still stings her, that things couldn’t be different._ _

__Anya’s not one to simmer in resentment, so he knows she won’t take it the wrong way when he tries to redirect. He raises an eyebrow and says, “I think you’re going to get Sid into bed with us, but instead you had a heart-to-heart conversation?”_ _

__“He’s—I’m surprised, a little,” Anya says. “He’s not just a pretty face, a good hockey player.”_ _

__“I’ve been telling you this,” Zhenya teases her gently. He loves easily, Zhenya does, but his lasting attachments tend to come with people who challenge him, relationships that have a little more substance to them._ _

__“It’s not that I didn’t believe you,” Anya says. “But it’s different, seeing the evidence for myself.”_ _

__Zhenya’s chest warms._ _

__“Besides, I think it’s best if we seduce him together.”_ _

__*_ _

__It’s Zhenya’s turn for a workout when they get home the next day, and he heads for Sid’s gym to ride the bike and lift enough weights that his trainer at home won’t fuss at him when he gets back. He ends by stretching and scowling at Sid’s pictures of competitors raising the Cup arrayed on the walls, then heads back through the house for a shower._ _

__When Zhenya emerges, Anya’s got a glass of pale white wine—pinot grigio, most likely—with raspberries and sliced peaches in it. Zhenya insinuates himself next to her, kissing her neck, and then picks up her wine when she’s off guard._ _

__“Hey,” she protests. Zhenya shamelessly uses his long reach to keep her from snatching it back, and takes a long sip himself._ _

__“Mmmmm,” he says, then sips again before handing it back to her._ _

__“You drank so much,” she says, pouting at him._ _

__He leans in and kisses her upturned face, darting out his tongue to lick at her lip when she doesn’t move to kiss him back. But she smiles when he pulls away, though she guards her wine carefully, he notices._ _

__He glances over at Sid, who’s watching them, amused. “Don’t fight, I can fix one for you, you know,” he says. “If you’re man enough to drink your own glass of white wine with fruit in it,” he adds, mouth twitching._ _

__“Shut up, Sid,” Zhenya says, and then adds, without thinking, “I’ll show you man enough.”_ _

__Sid looks over at Anya and raises his eyebrows. She’s smirking._ _

__Zhenya can’t quite handle the two of them in league against him. They might kill him._ _

__Sid chuckles, and turns toward the fridge. He grabs a bowl of fruit and the bottle of wine. “Drink what you like, G. This is a safe space, no shame here.”_ _

__Zhenya can’t help but scowl, but he knows it’s fond._ _

__*_ _

__They put on “Finding Nemo” for Nikita, and Sid’s got his tablet on his lap, but Zhenya can tell he’s watching the movie and maybe surreptitiously watching them more than he’s accomplishing anything productive. Zhenya has his book in his lap but he’s sucked into the movie, too distracted and tired to focus. Anya’s not even pretending to do anything but zone out and watch the movie, Nikita nestled in between them._ _

__“Time for bed, Bunny,” Zhenya announces, when Nikita’s little head bobs for a third time in as many minutes._ _

__“I’m not tired, Papa,” he protests, but it’s half-hearted._ _

__“We’ll watch the rest of the movie tomorrow,” Anya tells him, and pauses it._ _

__Niki opens his mouth to protest, but Zhenya overrides him. “Say goodnight to Mama and to Sid,” Zhenya tells him, and he hops down from the couch and beelines for Sid, who leans out of his chair to hug him. It pulls on Zhenya’s heartstrings to see how trustingly his little boy wraps his arms around Sid’s neck, how gently Sid holds him for a moment before letting him go._ _

__Nikita repeats it for Anya, who holds him tight and kisses all over his face until he squirms away, laughing. “Mama!” he protests._ _

__Zhenya pushes himself upright and reaches out a hand for Nikita. “Want me to carry you, little man?”_ _

__“I’m not a baby,” Nikita says, and heads down the hall for the bathroom._ _

__Zhenya has him brush his teeth and gets him situated with his stuffed penguin and his favorite blanket, sits with him for a few minutes until he’s asleep, before returning to the living room where Anya’s joined Sid on the loveseat, curled up next to him, and Zhenya’s breath catches as their two dark heads turn to look at him._ _

__He hesitates, feeling weirdly like he’s imposing himself where he shouldn’t be, like he should leave them space to figure out what they’re doing without his interference. Anya reaches a hand out to him, though, and he moves into the room, sits at her feet and rests his head on her bare thigh, clasping a hand around her ankle. A hand settles into his hair, and he has a disorienting moment where he’s not sure whose it is. He shivers, breath coming a little short._ _

__“Come join us tonight?” Anya asks, and for a moment Zhenya’s confused, but then he realizes she’s inviting Sid._ _

__“Me?” Sid says, voice low._ _

__“Who else?” she says playfully._ _

__“I—”_ _

__Zhenya turns to look up at him, dislodging the hand—Sid’s—from his hair. “Please, Sid,” he says, more earnest than Anya’s playfulness._ _

__Sid opens his mouth, then closes it again._ _

__“What, Sid?”_ _

__Sid shifts. “Not to be—sorry, I just—what about Nikita?”_ _

__“It’s fine, Sid. He’s a good sleeper.” Anya says._ _

__“It’s why Anya not want another kid, yet,” Zhenya says, smirking at her. “She’s afraid we get one that doesn’t sleep.”_ _

__Anya shakes her head at him, rolling her eyes a little, then climbs off the couch around Zhenya, and Zhenya follows her lead, reaching for Sid’s hands to pull him up._ _

__He stands, drawing one hand back from Zhenya, but Zhenya clasps his other hand, gently brushing his thumb along Sid’s knuckles. Zhenya reaches out for Anya with his free hand, and she comes closer._ _

__“Anna, you’re so—I can’t—” Sid breaks off. He steps toward her, slowly, and she reaches up to rest her arms on his shoulders, moving into his space. Zhenya lets both their hands go. He feels swept away by emotion, like the earth is changing under his feet, like the foundations of his life are shifting, rearranging to build something new._ _

__Anya sways in a little closer and their lips meet and Zhenya’s pulse pounds in his ears. He could watch them forever. Anya’s hands are in Sid’s hair, and he lifts his arms to rest his hands low on her hips. She pulls away to kiss along his jaw, and his eyes slip closed as he tilts his head to give her access to his neck. Zhenya knows how sensitive he is there and watching Anya discover that for herself only makes him burn hotter. Zhenya can hear Sid’s breath hitching from where he’s standing, but he can’t stand it anymore, he moves toward them. Sid catches his eye, and his gaze is hazy, lips parted. Zhenya leans in to steal a kiss, coming closer to stand behind Anya._ _

__“I think we need to get him to bed, Zhenya,” she teases. In Russian, she adds, “he’s looking a little weak in the knees, don’t you think?”_ _

__“Hey,” Sid protests. “No talking about me in Russian, not—” he trails off as she kisses his ear again._ _

__Zhenya finds Sid’s hand and shifts it to Anya’s ass, and Sid makes a noise low in his throat._ _

__“Anya’s right, come to bed, Sid,” Zhenya instructs._ _

__They situate themselves in the guest bed, with Sid in the middle, and they take turns kissing him and kissing each other, as Sid and Anya explore each other’s bodies as much as they can while they’re both still fully clothed. She skims a hand up the front of his shirt and he shudders as she pinches at his nipple, and she smiles in satisfaction when he does the same to her. He groans when she unbuttons her shirt to give him better access. Zhenya kisses her then, and guides Sid’s hand to cup her breast. Her sharp intake of breath makes Sid lean in to kiss her some more, and she opens her mouth to him. It’s incredibly erotic to watch them kissing, slow and deep; Zhenya catches tantalizing flashes of tongue as their mouths meet and part._ _

__Zhenya grips himself through his shorts just to take the edge off. He doesn’t want to rush them into anything they aren’t ready for, but he really hopes getting off can happen in the not too distant future._ _

__He’s perfectly happy to spectate, to let them get each other off and just get himself off. He feels like it’s a privilege for him to be here at all, with them, watching them smile at each other when they discover what feels good to both of them._ _

__But he wonders, watching them, if he needs to give them a little nudge. “Anya, Sid, what you’re want to do?”_ _

__Sid flushes a little at Anya’s smirk in response to Zhenya’s question. She reaches down, trails her fingers over his dick, and Sid bites his lip. “You want?” she asks him._ _

__“I—yeah, for sure,” he says._ _

__She slips her hand into his shorts and Zhenya knows exactly how it feels for Sid, what her grip is like, how she’s likely thumbing gently around his foreskin. He draws in a sharp breath as Sid thrusts his hips toward her._ _

__“Big,” she murmurs, appreciative, and Sid’s flush goes darker still. Zhenya smirks. Why everyone’s always surprised at what Sid’s packing, he’ll never understand. The guy positively radiates big dick energy._ _

__Zhenya realizes with some surprise that maybe Sid needs a little direction, too, that it’s up to him to take charge. The idea fills his chest with a swelling tenderness, tempering his own arousal. He itches to put his hands on Anya, to reach down between her legs and feel the warmth of her pussy, but he takes Sid’s hand, instead, and slides it down her belly. Sid unbuttons her shorts and pulls down the zip, slips his hand inside and groans as he’s probably sinking his fingers into her._ _

__Zhenya can’t see, and it’s maddening, frankly, to watch their hands and have to imagine what they’re doing to each other. His breath comes shorter and he wraps a hand around his own dick. Anya opens her eyes and smirks. “Sid, I’m think Zhenya wants to watch,” she murmurs._ _

__Sid looks up at him, eyes dark. “I’m not stopping him,” he says._ _

__“You both wear too many clothes,” Zhenya complains._ _

__“Same goes for you,” Sid says, and Zhenya rises to shove his pants off and strip off his t-shirt._ _

__“Now you,” he says, jacking himself slowly. Both of them comply, and Zhenya’s spoiled for choice, whose skin he wants to see more, inch by revealed inch. Anya lies back, one arm over her head, propped on the pillows at the head of the bed, and Zhenya tears his eyes away from her to look at Sid, whose eyes are tracking down her body, mouth dropped open, hands frozen at the waist of his own shorts._ _

__“Pants off, it’s only fair,” Zhenya reminds him, and Sid dumbly pushes them off before curling next to Anya, running a hand along her side and down her hip._ _

__He lets his fingers trail toward her pussy and says, voice hoarse, “Can I go down on you?”_ _

__Anya draws in a deep breath, “Please,” she says, eyes fixed on him as she raises her knees, parts her legs, to make room for him._ _

__Zhenya knows how she tastes, and he knows how good Sid is with his mouth, and he leans in to kiss Anya’s slack mouth and pinch gently at her nipples, pausing only to watch Sid’s head bob and to listen to the slick noises he’s making._ _

__Zhenya brushes his fingers along Sid's shoulder. Sid looks up at him, mouth and chin wet from Anya’s pussy, and Zhenya wants to taste. He sits up enough to lean in to kiss Sid’s mouth while Anya gasps behind him, a hand in his hair._ _

__“Anya,” he says, voice hoarse, “what do you want?”_ _

__She bites her lip and widens her eyes at him, and so he turns to Sid to say, “She likes to be full,” giving him the option to be the one to fuck her if he wants._ _

__Sid glances from Zhenya’s face to Anya’s, and back to Zhenya’s, before saying, definite, “You fuck her; let me watch,” and maybe he doesn't want the pressure of doing everything this first time they’re together. Sid leans back in to give one more sucking kiss to her clit, and her hips jolt as she whines._ _

__“Do it, Zhenya,” she says, and he thinks it’s sweet that she’ll tell him what to do when she was maybe a little reluctant to say it to Sid. That tenderness rises in him again, filling his chest, and he kisses her gently and climbs over to position himself on top of her. Sid’s curled next to them again, face flushed, chest flushed, biting at his lip and jacking himself._ _

__“You see okay?” Zhenya asks him._ _

__“Do it,” Sid says, echoing Anya, and Zhenya slides his dick into Anya’s warmth and his eyes almost roll back in his head for how good it is, ordinary, but somehow new with Sid there beside him, watching and spectating._ _

__“So wet for me,” he says._ _

__She gasps as he begins to thrust, “Sid helped.”_ _

__Zhenya can’t help a breathless laugh._ _

__Sid’s jacking himself steadily now, and Zhenya tries to nail Anya as best he can, the deep, grinding thrusts she prefers. Her hips tilt up more and Zhenya gasps, “Sid, you should—” and thankfully Sid can read his incoherent direction because he reaches in to roll her nipple between his fingers. It’s not long before Anya bends her knees, tilts her hips, and puts her legs around his waist so she can grind up into his thrusts, and a breathy moan turns into her saying “Oh, oh, Zhenya,” and she tenses up around him. He thrusts a few more times and spills, at the edge almost before he knows it, almost involuntary._ _

__“Oh my god,” Sid says, and he jacks himself a few more times before he’s spurting, too, and flops back. “This is the hottest thing that’s happened to me in my entire life,” he says, muffled._ _

__“Next time I’m get my mouth on you,” Anya says to Sid._ _

__Zhenya can see Sid’s dick twitch at her words, and he smiles to himself. “She’s good with her mouth, too,” he teases._ _

__“You’ll both be the death of me,” Sid says._ _

__Anya sits up and scoots off the bed. She bends to kiss Sid’s cheek on her way to the bathroom to clean up._ _

__Sid grimaces down at the mess on his belly and Zhenya hands him his discarded t-shirt so he can wipe himself off. He drops the shirt and reaches across the space Anya left and takes Zhenya’s hand. “Thanks,” he says._ _

__“Don’t need to thank, Sid. We both want. We _all_ want,” he corrects himself. _ _

__Sid doesn’t answer, just smiles into his pillow. He’s asleep before Anya comes back to bed, after pulling on a loose sleep shirt and panties. She curls into Zhenya’s side and rests her head on his shoulder, sighing deeply._ _

__“Better put on pants, Zhenya,” she murmurs after a long few moments of him stroking his hand up and down her back. They’ve learned the hard way that it’s better to be dressed in the night in case Nikita has a bad dream or just wakes up for water or because he’s cold._ _

__He gets up to take a leak, and pulls on shorts and a t-shirt, before climbing back into bed, where both of them are asleep now. Zhenya pulls the sheet over them all, and closes his eyes._ _

__*_ _

__They’re all awake before Nikita the next morning, and Zhenya knows they won’t have long, so he gets straight to the point._ _

__“I’m not want this to be just—summer fling,” Zhenya says. “But maybe I’m greedy, I’m want both of you. If I’m not have to choose. It’s not fair to you.”_ _

__“I’ve got no complaints,” Sid says, smile crooked and devastating._ _

__Anya pushes up on her elbows between them. She smiles warmly at Sid for a long moment, before turning to meet Zhenya’s eyes. “I’m think it’s good for all of us,” she says, final and sure._ _

__Nikita stirs, then, and Zhenya goes to fetch him, heart full. He’s with all he people he loves best, together._ _

__*_ _

__

__After autographs and goodbyes at the close of Hockey School on Friday they arrive back to Sid’s. A work crew arrives in big white trucks shortly after, setting up the deck and the backyard with tents and strings of lights and tables and chairs, a sound system and enormous grills. Someone sets up croquet and bocce and cornhole. Sid’s hired a couple of babysitters to organize the kids._ _

__As evening falls, Zhenya’s eyes track Sid, watching him interact with everyone, old friends and colleagues and enormous extended family, wandering barefoot back and forth through the open doors into the crowded yard: Sid in his natural habitat. Zhenya’s caught glimpses of this perfectly comfortable version of Sid before, of course: joyful and uninhibited at a practice when everything’s clicking, amped up after a perfect goal, at celebrations with the team, relaxed and happy in a hotel bed after he and Zhenya have fooled around._ _

__But seeing him here, the easy way Sid laughs and jokes and takes chirps from people who’ve known him his entire life, a place where he’s got no role to play, no captain’s skates to fill, there’s a lightness to him that’s hard to resist. Of course Sid belongs in Pittsburgh, on the team, on the ice, but it’s a different kind of belonging here._ _

__Anya tucks herself up against his side, and leans into him, tilting her face up at him. He leans in to kiss her gently._ _

__“Everyone loves him, it’s not just you,” she teases, as they watch his—Zhenya thinks it’s Sid’s uncle—rope a bright-eyed Sid into retelling a show-stopping, game-winning goal from the ECF, appealingly self-deprecating, while his cousins and Taylor laugh._ _

__Sid doesn’t need him at all, which Zhenya has always known, but here it’s more obvious than ever._ _

__Anya raises her eyebrows at him. “I’m just kidding, Zhenya.”_ _

__“It’s true, though,” he admits, watching Sid’s eyes rake the crowd, as he snags a bottle of wine and goes to refill his mom’s glass, as she laughs up at him, eyes crinkling just like Sid’s do. Zhenya’s heart twists._ _

__Anya bumps him gently. “I don't think you need to be jealous.”_ _

__“I’m not jealous,” he says._ _

__She quirks an eyebrow at him, and it’s like her to know his mind better than he knows himself. “I’m really not,” he insists. “More—superfluous, maybe.”_ _

__“You’re afraid he doesn’t need you.”_ _

__He lifts a shoulder. “I never thought he needed me,” he says, but that’s not right, either._ _

__She lifts her chin, inviting him to go on. “He’s complete, but—so am I.”_ _

__She nods. “It’s good, you’re both people, by yourselves. Me, too. And he knows this, about us. It’s good we get to see it about him, too.”_ _

__Zhenya squeezes his arm around her a little tighter. “How come you’re so smart,” he teases._ _

__Sid picks that moment to wander over to them. He’s a little flushed, but Zhenya can tell when he’s drunk and when he’s not, and this isn’t even close. “Having fun, guys?” he asks._ _

__Anya smiles at him. “Of course. It’s a very nice party.”_ _

__“Only problem is, too many Canadians,” Zhenya says, to make Sid laugh._ _

__It works. “Next year, I’ll invite some Russians, just for you,” he says, still smiling._ _

__Next year. “We’re come back next year?” Zhenya asks without thinking about it._ _

__“I hope so,” Sid says, earnest as always._ _

__“We will,” Anya says, equally earnest, but she squeezes Zhenya’s ass when she says it._ _

__*_ _

__Zhenya’s already dreading their departure, the nearly two weeks they’ve been here having passed in a flash. But it’s Nikita who cries, hard, when they tell him gently that they’re leaving to go back to Russia the next day._ _

__He and Anya exchange a consternated look. “Lots of fun things to do there, see grandma and grandpa, go to the park, have all your toys!” Zhenya reminds him._ _

__He cries some more until it becomes clear that it’s Sid he’ll miss the most. Zhenya can relate._ _

__“Ah, buddy,” Sid says, forehead creased. Zhenya knows he’s a lot of kids’ favorite, and that he’s probably practiced at managing hard goodbyes._ _

__“If Mama and Papa say it’s okay, you can call me sometimes.”_ _

__Nikita sniffles. “Yeah?”_ _

__“We can send Sid pictures, when we’re at the park, and he’ll send some to you, too.”_ _

__Sid nods solemnly. “I sure will, buddy.”_ _

__“And we’ll all be back together in Pittsburgh before long.”_ _

__“Sid will come visit us a lot, and we’ll go to hockey games to watch Sid play with Papa.” Anya reminds him._ _

__Sid nods, and Zhenya smirks at him. “Visit lots,” he emphasizes._ _

__Nikita looks slightly mollified._ _

__*_ _

__They spend the night together, again, and Zhenya’s wide awake early. A looming day of travel gives him a spike of adrenaline that’s hard to sleep through. He’s packed, Anya’s packed, Nikita’s stuff is gathered, but even so: he’s wide awake. He turns, and Anya’s awake, too, watching him and smiling a little. She sits up and heads for the bathroom, and he hears her brushing her teeth before she comes back out, sits by Sid’s hip, stroking his back through the sheet pulled up over him. Zhenya goes to the bathroom, too, and he sits by Anya, kisses her gently._ _

__“Morning,” she says, low. He kisses her again, and Sid stirs, pushes himself upright and heads to the bathroom._ _

__They’re waiting for him when he comes back, and Zhenya wriggles backwards to make room for Sid between them. He climbs in, facing Anya, and Zhenya puts an arm over his waist, spooning up behind him._ _

__“Let’s, ah, say our goodbyes now,” Sid says, and Zhenya can feel Anya drawing close to Sid, can hear the soft noises of them kissing. He reaches out, tangles his fingers over Sid’s, where his hand is cupped around Anya’s head. It makes sense to have their goodbye kisses here, before Nikita awakens. Sid has no reason to take them to the airport, and it’s not like they can have a proper goodbye there, anyway._ _

__Sid draws back from Anya and rolls in his arms to look at him and smile gently. He presses his lips to Zhenya’s, and Zhenya kisses him, softly, before pulling back and looking him in the eye._ _

__“Take good care, Sid. We’ll miss you.”_ _

__Anya props herself up on her elbow, then sits. Sid rolls onto his back so he can see them both, smile into each of their eyes in turn. “We’ll be together in Pittsburgh before you know it,” he says, and as much as Zhenya hates the idea of parting from him right now, he knows it’s true._ _

__Anya takes Sid’s hand, and Zhenya takes their joined hands in both of his, squeezing gently, hoping that it conveys what’s in his heart: a few weeks of distance between them won’t change the journey they’ve begun._ _


End file.
